Assemblyman Curt Hagman said he plans to seek the chairmanship of the San Bernardino County Republican Party. Hagman's plans set up a challenge with Robert Rego, who has led the San Bernardino County GOP since August 2009.

Although both men spoke well of each other, Rego says he has no plans of stepping down and would like to retain the chairmanship through 2014.

If selected as leader, Hagman said his priorities would be to recruit members from a wide spectrum of viewpoints and his "pet project" of modernizing the party's communications system to deliver targeted messages to members.

"You keep them informed about the issues they care about, but it takes a lot IT stuff and encoding," he said.

Regarding a possible confrontation with Rego, Hagman said "I hope to be working with him and not against him."

Rego said he would be pleased to work with Hagman to hand over the local party's reigns - but not just yet.

Rego said serving as a Assemblyman and as a party leader is too much work for a single person.

"Should the time come hwen he's not in elected office and he would like to seek the chairmanship, I would be more than happy to help in that endeavor," Rego said.

The local GOP's next leader is scheduled to be chosen when the Central Committee meets Jan. 26 in Rancho Cucamonga.

Assemblyman Curt Hagman said he plans to seek the chairmanship of the San Bernardino County Republican Party.

Hagman's plans set up a challenge with Robert Rego, who has led the San Bernardino County GOP since August of 2009.

Although Hagman and Rego spoke well of each other, Rego says he has no plans of stepping down and would like to retain the chairmanship through 2014.

If selected as leader, Hagman said his priorities would be to recruit members from a wide spectrum of viewpoints and his "pet project" of modernizing the party's commuications system andrew.edwards@inlandnewspapers.com